Speaker’s Office receives 12-member list for special committee to appoint CJP

ISLAMABAD: Following the approval of the 26th constitutional amendment bill, the National Assembly Speaker’s Office has received the names of all 12 members for a special parliamentary committee for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Earlier, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had asked the parliamentary leaders to submit names of their respective members for the special committee.

The NA Speaker’s Office has received names of four nominees from the Senate and they are Kamran Murtaza from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Farooq H Naek from Pakistan People’s Party, Azam Nazeer Tarar from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Barrister Ali Zafar from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Sources said that of eight members from the National Assembly, the Speaker’s Office has received names of seven members.

The PML-N has nominated Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, and Shaista Pervaiz, the PPP has nominated Raja Pervaiz Ashraf  and Naveed Qamar, while the PTI has put forward the names of Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Sahibzada Hamid Raza. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has nominated Khawaja Izharul Hassan.

The 12-member special parliamentary committee will select the next Chief Justice of Pakistan from a panel of three senior judges.

Three days prior to the retirement of current chief justice, a panel of three senior judges will be sent to the National Assembly speaker, who will then forward it to the committee for final selection.

The names of senior-most judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, and Justice Yahya Afridi will be considered for the new chief justice. The committee will make its decision by a two-thirds majority.